Pop Warner Football: B Team cruises in first game

The Lexington/Bedford/Hanscom (LBH) Raiders B-Team opened its season with a 24-0 win over the visiting Reading Rockets.

The Lexington/Bedford/Hanscom (LBH) Raiders B-Team opened its season with a 24-0 win over the visiting Reading Rockets.

The LBH defense picked up where it left off last season. The Raiders swarming style defense and tenacious pursuit led to the defensive shutout as Sean Sullivan, Aaron Sousa, Mesay Merseth, Andrew Elbert, Will Potdevin, Mike Gupta, Owen Graham-O’Regan, Raj Pabla, and Dennahe Adley prevented Reading from any serious scoring opportunities in the 2013 home opener. Adley also added a key interception for LBH.

As the Raiders offense kicked into gear it used a combination of hard running by Joe Greaney, Tony Bianchi, Malachi Mcreed and Jack Marcin along with quick passes to Max Stevens and Joe Tibbles. The Raiders broke the ice midway through the first quarter with a 25-yard touchdown run by Malachi Mcreed around the right end. Then late in the second quarter the Raiders potent 2-minute drill was put into action from midfield. Sal Frelick connected on a 25-yard pass to Tony Bianchi followed by a 25-yard touchdown pass to Jack Marcin to go up 16-0 at the half. The Raiders scored again in the third quarter on a Tony Bianchi 61-yard touchdown run off the left tackle with thanks to key blocks by Kase Cronin and Matt Pusatere. Joe Greaney kicked the extra point, his third of the game, as the LBH Raiders extended their lead to 24-0. The solid running game the Raiders enjoyed was a result of its strong offensive line play of Cronin, Pusatere, Jamie Murray, Aaron Sousa, Mike Gupta, Korben Whitt-Leitner, Lucas Honohan, Forrest Levey and Gabe Van Emon.

The Lexington/Bedford/Hanscom Raiders B-team will travel to Waltham this Sunday, September 15 at 12:30 p.m.

C Team

The Lexington/Bedford/Hanscom Raiders C-Team kept the fans on the edge of their seats Sunday at their home opener in a 20-0 loss to Reading.

The Raiders offense opened the game with a great opening 50-yard drive that just fell short of the end zone. The Raiders struggled to gain yardage on the ground, but managed to take it to the air with several great pass plays. The Raiders mighty offensive line lead by Nicholas Ursino and Andy Minghella held back fierce Reading defenders. This allowed quarterback Zachary Greenberg to connect with several receivers including a quick pass to running back Wayne Brasco, who fought off multiple defenders breaking into the red zone. Strong efforts from running backs Colin Cunningham and William Pataki verified that the Raiders feared no one as they ran directly through the middle of the Reading line dragging Reading defenders with them.

The C team’s offensive line lived up to the long-standing reputation of LBH teams being tough and determined competitors. Each of the offensive lines, which include Logan Weisz, Luke Eriksson and Jackson Moore, fought a tough battle in the trenches all game. Key blocks from slot back Chris Cervone helped setup the Raiders passing game. In a race against the clock to put points on the board the Raiders called on running back Kade Kalinske who proved his speed and agility as he cut up the field on a sweep weaving through defenders for a gain of 25 yards. Bradley Delzingo, the Raiders powerhouse center was called on to help stop Reading on short yardage situations.

The Raiders special teams shined as Tyler Alden’s solid kick off performance proved valuable and gave Reading poor field position.

The Raiders defense looked strong from the opening drive as Kai Paxton Lee and Rafe Sullivan, Raiders cornerbacks forced plays inside where linebackers Tyler Dussault and Kade Kalinske wrapped up and drove the Reading backs to the ground. Reading managed a couple of breakout moments to gain big yardage setting up scoring opportunities. It was not easy for the Reading team to gain yardage throughout the game due to the incredible pressure from Raiders hard-hitting defensive line. Hudson Kortbus and Brendan Jones exploded through the line hurrying Reading’s offense as defensive end Ryan McElwee put pressure on Reading’s outside game. Isaac Perez held the Raiders backfield assisting on several tackles holding Reading’s yardage to a minimum.

The Raiders fought to the end but came up short. The C-team will face Waltham, this Sunday, the 15th at 11:00 a.m. in Waltham.

D Team

The Lexington/Bedford/Hanscom Raiders D-Team opened their 2013 season last Sunday at Minuteman High School against the Reading Patriots, but could not come away victorious and lost by a score of 26-7.

After a challenging pre-season that included scrimmages against Malden, Acton-Boxboro and Saugus, the Raiders were ready to take on one of their toughest league opponents. The Patriots won the coin toss and opted to receive. But the Raiders defense, having come off of its best practice week of the pre-season, was ready. The Raiders defensive line of David Bergantino, Octavio Sanrame, Shun Isobe and Kieran Parikh, supported by linebackers Luciano Filippi, Charlie Mabardy, Peyton Heisner, and Ethan Xi stopped the Patriots on four downs.

Lexington took over in Patriot territory and managed to move the ball well as quarterback Sam Monaghan led a double threat offense that included the running of Peyton Heisner, Adam Legere and Luciano Filippi ripping off some solid gains and there was also the deep pass threat of Ethan Xi. But Lexington came up just short, and a hard fought, back and fourth game ensued. The Patriots eventually broke the stalemate on a breakaway run up the middle to make it 6-0. The extra point attempt was good and the Patriots took a 7-0 lead. The Raiders responded and fought all the way back into the Patriots red zone before time ran out in the first half.

In the second half both teams continued their strong play including standout defensive performances by Adam Legere and Declan Garrity. Also, Peyton Heisner busted a 15-yard scamper for the Raiders sole touchdown and quarterback Sam Monaghan hooked up with wide receiver Ethan Xi for a couple of long pass plays. However, ultimately, the game was be defined by hard fought series intermixed with occasional big plays, but still coming up short for the Raiders.

This Sunday, the 15th the Raiders will travel to Waltham for a game time of 9:30 a.m.

E Team

It was a great day of football for the Lexington/Bedford/Hanscom E-Team squad as they started off the season with a big win of 21-6 against their arch rival, Reading on the opening day last Sunday at Minuteman Tech.

The game proved to be a challenging one; despite the final score. On the third possession of the game the Reading quarterback threw a 50-yard bomb down the left side of the field and the score quickly read 6-0 with Reading taking the lead. However, that was all Reading would get out of their offense. The combination of Charlie Naylor, Mike Delia, Ryan Cohen, Gage McCool, Lucas Viana and Aiden Pompi contained the Reading offense and only allowed three other first downs. On the Raiders Defensive line, there was Ben Tibbles, Michael Sullivan, Finn Sullivan, Aiden Higson and Darren Tran clogging the middle and making impressive tackles.

Three minutes after Reading scored, the Raiders came right back on a five play drive that included a snapped fumble picked up by Jake Morrison and who turned it into a 45-yard touchdown run.

On the day, Aiden Pompi had 5 carries for 28 yards, the quarterback Charlie Naylor had 4 carries for 75 yards and an impressive 3rd and long 60-yard touchdown run, Lucas Viana had 2 for 20 yards and Jake Morrison, who turned out to be the big runner of the game with almost 100 yards had two touchdowns. Kai Spencer-Peterson, James Naylor, Chris Woo, Matt Ursino, Braden Chisholm, Carson Moore and Ryan Ferrari showed superior blocks during the course of the game. Also, Aiden Pompi blocked well from the full back position.

Lucas Viana and Ryan Cohen made significant defensive contributions with timely touchdown saving tackles. Jacob Sollee also contributed to the game with some key tackles and ran hard with the ball a few times to advance the Raiders in better scoring position. Gage McCool also made a lot of solo tackles and Chris Woo was as tough as nails. Liam Kinneen, Naveen Kothandaraman, Aaron Kreiter, Matthew Ursino and Darren Tran all contributed when the team needed big stops. Aiden Higson, Carson Moore, Dylan Wang and Michael Sullivan also contributed to a solid start for the Raiders team.

Next up for the E-team will be against Waltham, another tough challenger on Sunday, September 15 in Waltham.